In this discussion I talked with Pearse Redmond who runs the Porkins Policy Review podcast about the wild and strange claims of QAnon and the world that those who believe in “Q” live in.
Some have gone so far to turn away from family and friends to worship Q in cult like behavior grasping on to conspiracy theories that lead to nowhere.
I linked this to similarities with something called “Operation Vampire Killer 2000” that came out around 1992 and as a document passed around in the militia movement back then. Is Q repacking this document and other theories popular in past decades? Is part of a broader cultural trend of the moment where many people believe in people like Judyth Vary Baker?
This month Pearse Redmond and Yuval Laor explore the issue of conspiracy theories and their power to manipulate individuals and groups. They start off by discussing the popular Qanon theory, breaking down how adherents to this and many other conspiracy theories operate within the structure of a secret society, and the dangers of being in a secret society. Yuval also discusses the concept of “argument from strangeness” and how this factors into both conspiracy theories and miracles. Later they touch on why authoritarian groups such as cults often employ conspiracy theories in order to control and manipulate their members. Finally, they close out the show by discussing the danger of dismissing all conspiracy theories, and the human need to question authority, using the fabricated Nayirah Testimony and the Iraqi WMD’s as examples to support their arguments.
This week I am joined by Yuval Laor of the Open Minds Foundation, and one of my co-hosts for Open Minds On Air. We discuss the neoconservative movement, the exploitation of trauma, and Israel. Yuval and I start off the conversation with the breaking news that Donald Trump has decided to pull the US out the Iran Nuclear Deal. We talk about what this means for America and the prospect of war with Iran. Yuval gives us his perspective of this as an Israeli-American, and how the public within Israel is reacting to the news. Yuval and I then shift into the neocons who are obviously happy with Trump’s latest pronouncement. We look at their belief system and the psychology of the movement by using Israel as a template. Yuval talks about the continual use and exploitation of the holocaust and the trauma of it with in Israel. He discusses how this has manipulated Israeli society on a psychological level to the point where they view the Holocaust as constantly being right around the corner. We talk about the way that the Israeli state continually traumatizes its youth with regards to the Holocaust. Yuval and I then break down how this is the same method by which the neocons have sought to manipulate people here in the United States.
Later Yuval and I talk about the power of awe and fervor. Again using Israel as an example we talk about “Jerusalem Syndrome” and how it works on people who are not even religious. Yuval talks about John Kerry’s awe moment at Masada as well. We then shift into high fervor people and their inability to view the world outside of a good vs. evil black and white mentality. Yuval explains how the neocons have psychologically fallen into this mindset, and the ways in which it has effected their views on foreign policy. We also address whether neoconservationism is a cult group or a secret society. We also touch on Trump’s psychology and why he is so susceptible to manipulation, particularly by the neocons. Yuval also discusses the concept of a thought-terminating cliché. Yuval then closes out the episode with a very appropriate joke.
Porkins Policy Review 